A $3 billion fundraise doesn’t occur accidentally. For Menlo Ventures, it occurred due to a single, high-stakes conviction guess on Anthropic — one which its personal companions describe as a white-knuckle second — and since that guess paid off in a means that has reshaped what enterprise capital companies assume is feasible within the AI period.
Key takeaways
- Menlo Ventures raised $3 billion, the biggest fund in its 50-year historical past, pushed primarily by its AI portfolio and Anthropic stake.
- Menlo led Anthropic’s 2024 Sequence D with a $750 million funding, structuring roughly $500 million of it by way of a particular objective automobile (SPV).
- Anthropic’s valuation quadrupled to $18.4 billion after the Sequence D; Menlo’s stake is now reportedly value round $14 billion.
- The collectively launched Anthology fund began at $100 million in 2024 and has since deployed roughly $250 million throughout greater than 60 corporations.
- Anthropic has publicly warned traders that unauthorized SPVs and secondary market claims to promote its inventory are scams.
Menlo Ventures Raises $3 Billion in Its Largest-Ever Fund
The brand new fund is the largest in Menlo Ventures’ half-century of existence. That milestone alone alerts one thing significant — however the extra fascinating story is how the agency acquired there. Its Menlo Ventures Anthropic funding didn’t simply generate returns; it functionally rebuilt the agency’s fame and fundraising energy in a single transfer.
In keeping with Bloomberg, Menlo’s stake in Anthropic is now value roughly $14 billion. For a agency that dedicated $750 million on the Sequence D stage, the maths is hanging sufficient to draw critical restricted companion curiosity at a scale Menlo had by no means beforehand reached.
The timing issues too. In 2024, enterprise capital was nonetheless clawing its means out of a post-pandemic freeze. Companies like SoftBank and Tiger World had been nonetheless absorbing losses. Writing a examine of three-quarters of a billion {dollars} right into a single AI firm — earlier than it had a totally mature business product — wasn’t a consensus name. It was a conviction name.
Key Position of Anthropic in Menlo’s AI Funding Technique
Menlo had been an early Anthropic backer, coming into earlier than the corporate had a product available on the market. By 2024, the alerts had strengthened significantly. Anthropic had secured a $4 billion dedication from Amazon, was based by former OpenAI researchers together with CEO Dario Amodei and President Daniela Amodei, and had turn into probably the most aggressively pursued AI corporations within the business.
Nonetheless, main the Sequence D at that scale required greater than confidence within the firm. It required inventive capital structuring.
Anthropic’s Valuation Surge After Sequence D
The 2024 Sequence D quadrupled Anthropic’s valuation to $18.4 billion. That single spherical remodeled the corporate’s standing out there and validated Menlo’s earlier, pre-product entry level. Menlo subsequently participated in Anthropic’s Sequence E and F rounds, compounding the publicity.
Menlo’s Strategic $750 Million Funding by way of SPV
Elevating $750 million for a single deal throughout a VC winter required unconventional mechanics. Menlo structured roughly $500 million of the overall funding by way of a particular objective automobile — a pooled entity created particularly for the Anthropic transaction. The remaining $250 million got here from Menlo’s personal fund and contributions from agency insiders, in response to Forbes reporting on the time.
The SPV strategy let Menlo successfully punch above its weight, aggregating capital from a number of sources right into a single, authoritative place on the desk. It was an aggressive transfer for the market situations, and it labored.
What adopted that deal is now a unique form of drawback. AI-focused SPVs have proliferated to the purpose the place Anthropic itself issued a proper warning, calling all unauthorized SPVs and secondary market claims to promote its inventory “scams.” The licensed 2024 Menlo deal was, by that measure, an early instance that others have tried to mimic with out the underlying entry.
Anthology Fund: Menlo and Anthropic’s Startup Funding Automobile
The Anthropic relationship didn’t cease on the Sequence D. In 2024, Menlo and Anthropic collectively launched the Anthology fund, initially sized at $100 million. The fund’s mandate was to again early-stage startups constructing on or alongside Anthropic’s expertise, providing portfolio corporations extra than simply capital — together with entry to Anthropic management and credit for Claude.
Since launch, Anthology has grown considerably. It has deployed roughly $250 million and backed greater than 60 corporations, in response to a supply with information of the fund. It has already generated returns: Graphite was acquired by Cursor and Astrix Safety was acquired by Cisco, two early exits that validate the thesis.
The broader Menlo portfolio now displays a agency that has used the Anthropic relationship as a scout community into AI startup classes. Corporations together with OpenRouter, Higgsfield, Legora, Lovable, and OpenEvidence sit alongside Anthropic within the portfolio, giving Menlo a large view of the place the AI stack is creating — from mannequin infrastructure to application-layer instruments.
What the $3 billion elevate finally alerts is that restricted companions have purchased into all the structure: not simply the Anthropic stake, however the Anthology entry layer and the broader AI portfolio that Menlo has assembled round it. The agency turned one conviction guess right into a fundraising thesis, and the thesis held. Whether or not the following fund cycle requires Menlo to search out one other Anthropic — or whether or not the agency can construct on what it already owns — is the query now sitting beneath the document headline.
FAQ
What was the scale of Menlo Ventures’ newest fundraise?
Menlo Ventures raised $3 billion, the biggest fund in its 50-year historical past.
How did Anthropic’s valuation change after the 2024 Sequence D spherical?
Anthropic’s valuation quadrupled to $18.4 billion following the 2024 Sequence D funding spherical, which Menlo preemptively led.
How did Menlo Ventures construction its $750 million funding in Anthropic?
Menlo structured roughly $500 million of the $750 million funding by way of a particular objective automobile (SPV) and contributed the remaining $250 million from its personal fund and agency insiders.
What’s the Anthology fund launched by Menlo and Anthropic?
Launched in 2024 with an preliminary measurement of $100 million, the Anthology fund is a joint startup funding automobile between Menlo Ventures and Anthropic. It has since deployed roughly $250 million and backed greater than 60 corporations, with early exits together with acquisitions by Cursor and Cisco.
Article produced with the help of synthetic intelligence and reviewed by the editorial staff.